The state’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee announced it would conduct a further audit of the University of Wisconsin System in light of the April 19 Legislative Fiscal Bureau report that revealed the system is operating with a $648 million surplus in unrestricted funds.
The system’s surplus drew immediate criticism from state officials, many of whom said they lost confidence in the system’s ability to control its own fiscal affairs. After the report and harsh criticism, the system released information showing detailed allocations for its large surplus.
Jason Mugnaini, a co-clerk of the audit committee, said the committee is planning another audit to determine the UW System’s “level of commitment” to allocating its surplus to the areas it provided after information of the surplus was released.
“We don’t feel that the commitment level for those purposes was direct,” Mugnaini said.
Additionally, Mugnaini said the committee plans to request a timeline for expenditures, including whether the allocations have received approval from the system’s Board of Regents.
